Undying
by FEMSasuke
Summary: He didn't know why he wanted her. But he did, and he wanted her to want him too. Chouji's death nearly destroyed him, but maybe she could help him build himself back up. Shikamaru x FEM! Sasuke. (The story is not as simple as the summary, though.)
1. Chapter 1

At first he didn't believe it. Couldn't. But their expressions were so grim, so completely humourless that it made his world shake into comprehension. Of course he knew from the beginning that no one would make that sort of joke to him, but he couldn't stop himself from denying it instantly even as their manner was very serious.

He rushed out of the building, leaving paperwork scattered all over his desk and around the floor in his wake but he didn't care if he got lectured or even fired for leaving his post. All he could think about was getting to the hospital as fast as he could. When he arrived, his lungs aching for air, he cared not that he ran into people.

As he barged into the room, meeting Ino's watery eyes, he fell down on his knees as he looked upon his best friend thin and lying so still on that distasteful hospital bed.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Chouji was alive. He was broken, missing some parts, but alive and that was the only thing that would have mattered except his mind no longer worked like it had. It broke Shikamaru to millions of pieces seeing the dumb blank expression, drool dripping from his best friend's mouth, not recognizing him because he'd lost the capacity to.

Reaching for Ino's hand, they watched as the doctors tended to him, waiting, dreading for the medical conclusion. Before they were told, he already knew that nothing could be done. He could tell just by looking that Chouji was gone forever. His grip on Ino's hand tightened so much that it became painful for her, but she only winced and said nothing as they silently wept together.

Chouji died three days later.

* * *

The sadness of parting killed him. He still breathed. He could move and he could think and he could talk, but all he wanted to do was spend his days in his own mind, wallowing in his enormous loss. He tried to go to work, acted like he was fine, pretended everything was normal but once on his desk he only broke down and kept weeping while everyone in the room could only look away with a silent sympathy.

He couldn't stay that way forever though. Two weeks wasn't enough to grieve for a great guy like Chouji, but it was a long time to remain stagnant. Life went on. Chouji wouldn't like it if he abandoned living and everyone else because he was no longer there. He knew it to the very core of his soul because he had known his best friend so well.

It was time to move on from that agonizing pause and allow his emotional wound to heal. It was also time to face _her_, and he wondered what his feelings would be.

* * *

"You really don't know what happened," he asked for what seemed to be a hundred times. In reality, it was only the twenty-second though. His mind had kept up with the interrogation despite how unstable he still felt.

Sasuke said nothing, eyes without a shred of warmth as she looked at him.

Shikamaru sighed, not knowing what else to ask. He felt so drained, asking over and over and getting relatively the same answers. Her answers sounded sincere, and he wondered if she had learned to become so good at lying in her time away. He couldn't think of a single sensible reason why she would lie about what happened to Chouji if she really did know.

Then again, he couldn't think of a reason why she would make the effort to hand his best friend back over to them. A lone missing-nin willing to approach her enemy and bring him back to his team seemed odd. His sharp eyes watched her intently, looking for signs on her expressionless face that may betray her words. But there were none. She was as emotionless as he last saw her six years ago.

Sighing again, he opened the folder on the table between them. The mission report stated the team had been ambushed near the country's northwest border as they were heading back. They got separated in the confusion and just as they were about to give up on searching for Chouji a noise led them to Sasuke. She was carrying Chouji who was thin and barely conscious on her back. Recognizing her, they pursued as Sasuke attempted to escape despite their wounds and fatigue.

According to Sawa Akira, one of Chouji's companions on that mission, the Uchiha did not engage in combat at all. It didn't seem like she was trying her best to get away. She came willingly when they had her cornered.

He cut his eyes toward the girl sitting in front of him, so many questions in his mind, wondering if there was still a part of her that still cared for Konoha and its people. It was her home once, and she grew up in it, and her family's history intertwined deeply with the village's origins. She must still care somehow, because why else would she concern herself with a nearly dead shinobi whose loyalty was to a village that considered her a traitor and show herself so openly when the world was out for her head? It didn't make much sense to him.

She would have known what was involved, Sasuke wasn't stupid. Why did she risk her safety, when there was nothing rational to gain for her? As the result here she was, bound, currently under confinement, and it need not be said that she is headed toward execution.

_What were you thinking, Sasuke?_

Perhaps there was the tiniest bit of emotion when she saw former comrade who she once had some sort of interaction with back during the Academy. There must have been some longing for a reconnection with something or someone from her past, and that's when Chouji appeared, weak and defenceless, and she just had to protect him out of maybe an unexpected sense of duty or sudden sense of attachment.

It was all hard to believe, with what he knew of her, or what he at least believed he knew.

As he stared at her, he could not help but let his eyes wander from her face, down to her elegant neck, and to the full breasts that was hidden in a layer of cheap, generic kimono that was only a few shades paler than her skin. Despite the unsightly attire, she was beautiful, maybe even more so because of it. Realizing where his thoughts were heading, he cursed himself quietly. He shook his head and groaned, closing his eyes, not caring that she was looking at him as if he was a strange creature. He would have been pleased since he finally garnered a new expression from her, but he wasn't. He may have been letting his emotions get to him.

Deciding not to look at her again, he stood from his seat and walked toward the only window in the small room. A full grown man could fit into it, but it was now fitted with thick steel bars. The room had once been a storage room, he'd been told, but several incidents led to necessary relocations and conversions for the department.

Being in this small room with her, he couldn't help but become frustrated at how absent she was of emotion while he was nearly bursting with it. The urge to scream at her was so strong he clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw ached. After a deep breath, still looking away, he asked, "Did you attack him?"

He crossed his arms stiffly, waiting for the response that he'd already predicted.

"No."

"_Why_ did you help him then?"

"I don't know," she said after a long silence.

When he looked back, her face remained the same. He said nothing for many minutes, and finally, he pushed himself away from the wall.

"I'll be back," he said to her as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

'I think I like Sasuke' he said one time after school. He suddenly felt like saying it out loud even though he'd always found it troublesome to tell anyone.

Although little Chouji's eyes widened, his surprise was brief and he replied 'ok', smiling as he returned to eating his barbeque flavoured chips.

They never talked about it again.

Lying in his bed that evening, Shikamaru closed his eyes at the childhood memory. It wasn't something he had intentionally kept a secret, but no one ever asked, and it would have been so troublesome if anyone found out.

_They would probably be very surprised_, he thought, finally smiling a little as he found humour in his imagination of Ino's most probable reaction.

He dreamt of being six years-old again as he slept that night. Chouji was there too, eating his potato chips as he led Shikamaru to the lonely little Sasuke sitting away from everyone else.

* * *

Reviews would be nice.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

Naruto was by her cell when he arrived, head down, back to him. Sasuke was on the floor, sitting in a corner with the least light, head down, her long dark hair nearly blending completely with the shadows. Neither appeared to have noticed him enter, or perhaps they were both ignoring him, and Shikamaru said nothing as he walked to the front of the cell to stand beside the unusually silent blonde.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto's face was in that fierce, unyielding look of his that Shikamaru had come to recognize as his friend's expression of passionate regard. Without a doubt the two did not get along in their time alone together.

He could clearly imagine what had transpired between the two before he came in. The blonde charging in loudly, full of anger, surprise, bitterness yet full of joy, hope and excitement and a confusion of many other things, while the Uchiha was silent and gloomy and expressionless, probably a bit annoyed.

He could just imagine how Naruto voiced out his feelings despite largely being ignored, until finally Sasuke just had to say something that disappointed and hurt her ex-teammate. Like children, they had argued, neither backing down from each other's spirit and without a doubt unconsciously fuelling that blazing fire within them even more.

One, so open and full of concern could not comprehend such negative and contrary response from someone he always believed to be his friend. The other, shut away in an inner darkness, offered no trust or any promise of ever accepting that obstinate hand her ex-teammate unceasingly offered.

Yes, it had been that way for a long time; that whiskered little boy rushing to break in to that barrier, while the imprisoned girl was unwilling, if not unable, to break away from it. Now both eighteen, they were in the very same battle. They'd been unable to disentangle themselves from that confused, disorderly situation and maybe it's because they were both broken people that thrived on each other's similar yet contradictory characters. Shikamaru pondered on their twisted relationship as he wordlessly observed them. How anyone could survive such destructive connection, he couldn't understand.

_What should I do?_ He asked himself, weighing and considering if he should leave and come back later, knowing that this may be the only quiet time the two could have. But it really seemed as if the conversation had ended long before he came in, and so he decided to stay and watch what would happen in the next few minutes.

Nothing happened at all.

He sighed, slightly irritated at the wasted time. Clamping a hand on the orange-clad shoulder when he decided he had enough of the unhappy, furious tension that filled the small room, Shikamaru was given an expression of annoyed surprise that died quickly. He saw and felt the stiffness in Naruto's shoulders melt away to an extent, and seeing also the bags under his friend's eyes he knew immediately that Naruto had not slept well for days, stubbornly trying to get access to see the runaway Uchiha. And he had gotten his way, after probably annoying the hell out of Hokage-sama, who everyone knew had a soft spot for the blonde loudmouth. Tsunade-sama was swayed by that strong inner light Naruto emitted, and most of everyone, too, had a hard time denying the power of his light and in the end allow it to touch them.

The only one who would not yield to it was Sasuke, and to both her and Naruto it had been a long unceasing battle. How it had not worn the two down, he could not fathom it. Surely they did not want to keep going at it forever? Too much anger and dark feelings had already been unleashed toward each other over a difference of outlooks. Shikamaru wondered if Chouji and he had complete absence of family relations as the other two in the room, maybe they would have had a confused, antagonistic sort of relationship too. That was difficult to imagine.

No. Chouji wouldn't have turned out like that. Chouji was very pure, kind, and had never been inclined to cling to negative feelings for long.

He sucked in air, closed his eyes tightly for a minute, suddenly missing his best friend more than he already did. Theirs had been a friendship forged in boyhood. It would have endured for many, many years. It definitely would've.

"You should leave, Naruto." He said, voice much steadier than he felt, hoping that his stubborn friend would listen. "Get some rest. Come back another time." He hid the fact that there may never be another time, because sentencing Sasuke's execution could happen any day now, any moment. Anything less than that verdict was possible, but highly unlikely. The village was rarely kind to traitors, and the lack of sympathy from the villagers was too apparent; they chanted 'execution' covertly as they talked about her.

_Why are you here, Sasuke?_

The little girl who had lost everything has been forgotten, almost immediately after she had stepped out of the village gates. In their eyes, there was no value in recalling how they once put much hope and admiration upon her. They have abandoned her, as she had abandoned them, and that for them was fair result. He could tell with one look that Sasuke knew that, maybe even before she came back.

_Why did you come home?_

Shikamaru offered a small, reassuring smile, wisely keeping his thoughts to himself. Naruto would run, barging into Tsunade's office, yell out his disagreement, and it would lead to more unnecessary disorder, especially within the village council. Not to mention he'd probably be dragged into it if he imparted that information.

"Yeah." Naruto responded, trying to smile, but frowned instead. "You're right."

And as those blue eyes cut back to the silent female behind bars, Shikamaru saw it.

Naruto's expression softened. In the quiet gaze that was so unlike the loudmouth Shikamaru felt the strong longing. Reflected in those eyes was an undeniable, powerful affection.

It looked like love.

_Is it love you're feeling? Is it, Naruto?_

It certainly could be, although he couldn't be sure, because he'd never experienced it before. He couldn't remember if he ever saw his parents look at each other like the way Naruto was doing this moment.

His dark eyes went to Sasuke, the unspeaking prisoner, the oblivious tormentor, so lost in what was most probably a self deception for vengeance. If she would just look up, she would see it, probably… no, definitely she would see it, with the way Naruto's feelings were spilling out of him so candidly, without restrictions.

_Don't._

"Don't look up." Shikamaru froze, not meaning to utter those words. He bit his tongue enough to hurt so he could punish himself for his mistake.

"Huh?" The tanned face turned to him in confusion. "Why not? What's up there?"

Mentally, he cursed himself, uncharacteristically unable to come up with an explanation. "Uh… Nothing. I was just talking to myself. It's nothing. You should leave now." He insisted.

If Naruto noticed his abnormal behaviour, he showed no sign of it. "Yeah…" he answered again, reluctant, unsure. They both were strangely and terribly out of character.

_Sorry, Naruto,_ he though quietly, already predicting how his academy classmate would react once Sasuke's judgement comes. All efforts, time, and feelings since Team 7 was formed, those six years would be wasted, it may break him. Shikamaru hoped not. Uzumaki Naruto was destined for great things. An unfortunate closure to one of his goals shouldn't and couldn't possibly bring him down. Naruto would move on, just like he himself was moving on despite Chouji's shocking demise.

"See ya, then." It looked like he was not done speaking, and they both knew Naruto strongly wanted to say goodbye, and it didn't have to be that one word, anything would suffice as long as he could express a farewell to his long-time friend. He neither said nor did anything. One look at Sasuke's behaviour could make anyone lose their temper. She was so cold, she hurt him. With an angry turn, he walked stiffly out the room.

* * *

The door closed quietly. Sasuke relaxed slightly, but her frown only deepened at Naruto's absence rather than the opposite. Feeling eyes on her, she finally looked up. Between the bars Shikamaru stared down at her with a frown even deeper than her own.

"Tell me about Chouji." Arms crossed, he looked slightly angry.

"I already told you everything."

"You are too cold." She blinked at him as soon as those words left his mouth. The sudden subject change was startling. "You keep hurting him intentionally, trying to deter his spirit. This has been going on for years, surely you know by now that Naruto would never back down from that."

"That is none of your business," she replied tonelessly, but inwardly agreeing with everything that he said. She knew how dogged Naruto pursued her, how he kept holding on to what he believed was some kind of great friendship between them, when in fact, while she will admit that there had been a brief connection, there was no such bond existing today. She didn't want it. It was useless to cling to such sentiments. There was no room for it in her plans. And an outsider certainly hadn't the right to meddle in her affairs.

"You should stop. Finish both your struggles. Don't you want to resolve this? Isn't that why you're here? Within the last six years, surely you have realized how meaningless and stupid you had been to have heeded the whispers of a snake, leave your home, and aimlessly search for your brother while deluding yourself that you had absolute control over your life." He watched her expression turn harsh, but somehow he found the dangerous expression on her beautiful. And it was extremely satisfying to see that he was getting to her, that he was hitting buttons that made her play into a game he suddenly wanted to play eagerly. He was gripped by a sinister feeling, and he didn't know why.

"Don't act like you know everything!" Enraged, she stood up with controlled movements, her forehead creasing intensely behind long bangs. Yes, there was indeed something sickly satisfying in not being alone with such powerful feelings. Shikamaru did not know why there was such a concentrated mass of different emotions fighting to claw out of his chest. It was so frustrating that he was unable to identify each one properly as they shifted inside him restlessly. He struggled to keep them out of his face. Failing, his expression turned from flat to one twisted in anger and loathing.

Before he could stop himself, his mouth kept discharging the words. He closed in on the last step toward the bars, his body grazing the metal lightly.

"So you don't want an end to this meaningless journey? People who are _still_ willing to excuse you despite all your crimes are out there, fighting for your life and you don't care! Is that it?" He didn't give her a chance to answer. He continued spitefully. "You actually enjoy playing with him—with _them_, don't you? You actually cannot handle being completely without some kind of connection, that is why you've been stringing Naruto and Sakuro along, _bewitching_ them with your beauty while acting like you can't stand them. "

_Enough. _

Sasuke lost some of her anger. She watched him strangely.

"You know exactly how to keep them from deserting you…" She looked at him incredulously, eyes so round, growing even wider as he went on.

_Enough!_

"You made sure that their hearts would be seized by only you. _You're such a temptress_." _What am I saying? I can't stop._ A part of him told him he was acting like a jealous lover, even though he wasn't.

She walked over to him, her eyes fully wide, as if she was surprised by her own actions.

Now completely under the light, he could admire her figure wrapped in the same plain kimono he first saw her in. His eyes automatically travelled down her length and up again several times. "Even me…" She was so close, standing toe to toe in front of him. Why did she come close?

Her eyebrows were so dark and full, her lashes thick, long and curling naturally. Her straight nose was so perfect, and her hair… he touched the silk-like locks with his fingers.

"Shika—" His lips came down to touch hers. She didn't move away. It was so soft, like a dream. He didn't want to wake up from it. He pulled away only so he could admire her face again. She was so beautiful. She looked stunned. She looked like she wanted to move away. But she didn't. He disregarded thinking about it. Her mouth opened to speak, but he cut her off.

"Why did you come home?" He kissed her again, still lightly.

"Did you come to haunt me?" He asked, because she was always on his mind, whether he was asleep or awake, she was there. And again their lips met. The hand curled in her hair went up to her cheek, caressing it. He felt bolder when she let him wrap his other arm around her waist.

"Have you come to replace Chouji in my life, Sasuke?" He put more pressure on their kiss, angling his head in the way he knew would make it more pleasurable for both of them. He spoke as he kissed. "Tell me that's it. Sasuke. Tell me that's it. Please." She moaned softly as he pressed his body against the bars. He plied her mouth open with his tongue. She resisted only briefly.

"Sasuke…" He could no longer stop himself, ravishing her mouth with his tongue. It was torture, how much he wanted her. She didn't know the fire that burned in his body when he looked at her, and he cursed the bars that was between them. Somewhere in his mind a voice told him that he was going too far when he pulled on the ribbon on her waist. He shut it away.

When she gasped as her clothes open and fell off on one side, he felt her lashes brush his cheek as her eyes opened in surprise. A muffled noise came from her throat and he ignored it. He continued plundering her mouth, moaning in sweet pleasure.

Oblivious to everything but the woman in his arms, he didn't hear the door swing open behind him; neither did he sense the furious approach of the shinobi that entered. Strong hands grabbed his shoulders roughly. A hard fist landed on his jaw and Shikamaru felt himself crash solidly into the adjacent wall.

Dazed and aching, with blood on his tongue, he sat up. As he looked to where he had been his gaze briefly met the livid gray eye that glowered down at him before it swept back to the troubled-looking, frozen Sasuke, still in the exact same position. Coming to his senses, he saw his shadow connecting to hers, and he understood then why she never pushed him away. He stared at her open attire, at her naked breasts with the light pink tips, forgetting momentarily why he was on the ground until he heard his ribs crack as Kakashi kicked him.

Sasuke fell on her knees as she he formed the seal to release her from his jutsu. He heard her sigh with immense relief and he grimaced from more than the physical pain of the blows he just received.

Shikamaru felt great misery as he lost consciousness.

* * *

Male Sakura = Sakuro.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

To be told that he could finally depart from the hospital brought Shikamaru to a momentary elation. Of course, his ribs still hurt as the broken bones were given priority and a bruise was still left to remind him of his foolish action. He recalled how the Copy-nin had kicked him and cringed at the vividness of the memory. The blow had appeared admirably effortless, but the precise execution quickly rendered him incapacitated and effectively brought his mind back to proper sense.

He sighed as he passed through the quiet lobby and slowly exited the hospital. The afternoon heat immediately made him sweaty and uncomfortable. The generic blue uniform was starting to stick to his skin and he was grateful that he wasn't wearing his vest. He thought of his parents waiting for him at home and grimaced._ I shouldn't go home yet_, he told himself quietly. His mother would definitely assault him with questions he didn't want to answer, although his father already knew and promised him that he would keep quiet of the issue.

As he had to spend the night at the hospital he thought he would be spared from facing anyone who would be curious. But to his luck, almost immediately after he awoke in the hospital bed his father had come to visit, eyebrows raised high in silent incredulity but asked nothing of him.

"I spoke to Kakashi as soon as I heard," Shikaku said, eyeing his son calmly as he pulled a chair and sat by the small bed. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," he muttered, scratching his bandaged temple, and said nothing more.

"Well, you're a young man." The elder Nara smiled, watching the eighteen –year –old blush and look away with a slight scowl. He added before he left, "Try not to get caught next time."

_There won't be a next time._ Shikamaru had thought then with great conviction. Not with Sasuke. That female was the most troublesome in the whole country. Then it dawned on him, that she had former teammates that were just as troublesome. He groaned aloud as he neared the market district, disregarding the strange looks he garnered from other strolling villagers. Dealing with Naruto would bring him back to the hospital, and then at the hospital there was Sakuro who would definitely finish him off if by some miracle the blonde didn't.

Obviously Naruto didn't know yet though. If his whiskered friend knew, he wouldn't have been able to leave the hospital today. It was safe to assume that the pink-haired medic wasn't informed either. Sakuro practically lived in the hospital. It would've been easy to slip through his room some time during his miserable stay. He hadn't slept at all after his father's visit. Except for the nurse that checked up on his injuries once before lights off no one entered his room, therefore no attempts were undergone during the night.

He sighed. This wasn't healthy. To think he would fear for his life within the walls if the village. His cheek and temple began to throb in quick rhythm just as he heard running steps behind him. He turned to look and caught blue eyes. _Oh, great_, he though wearily.

"Shikamaru," Ino called out as soon as he saw her. Her very blonde hair bounced in its ponytail as she jogged over the last few feet to him. She surveyed him as she caught her breath, eyeing his bandaged right cheek and temple. "I heard you got into a fight. What were you thinking?"

"How troublesome," he muttered, turning as if he hadn't heard her query and lengthened his stride. "Come with me," he said to her, though knowing that she would have regardless of his invitation. He led her to one of his usual haunts west of the market district. As he spied the expanse of small hills in the distance a brief calm came to him. Quietly, Ino followed him through the flowery fields that preceded the undulating terrain.

They climbed to where Ino knew was Shikamaru's favourite spot. He immediately reclined, careful of his injury and thankful to some random god that her gaze was somewhere else that she missed the small wince that passed his face.

Looking around, memories of happier times ran through Ino's mind and a sad smile found its way to her lips. This would be one of the first places she would look whenever the lazy genius was missing, and almost always Chouji would be with him, happily eating chips. Underneath the dark shade of the lone hilltop tree, she gazed down at her long-time friend and teammate. The blank face that stared back up at her struck her with an even deeper sadness. She knew that he hid such a pain so much greater than her own. She imagined that the empty spot beside him mirrored the empty spot in his heart and it was as vast as the grassy terrain they were in.

Words of comfort wanted to spill from her but she herself did not find comfort in them. Knowing the futility of utterance made her keep her mouth shut. Still standing, she tried to keep the grief from her expression but she knew he saw it. He said nothing though, but reached for her hand and she took it, gripped it firmly and willed both their sorrows to disappear.

With that gentle contact they both knew that the other felt a little better.

He pulled her down to him, smiling lightly at her surprise then regretting what he'd done when she landed on his torso. "Oof!" He had been so distracted by the environment and by their shared melancholy that he'd forgotten his still-bruised ribs. His extended groan was joined by her feminine chuckle.

"Are you alright? Let me see." Removing her weight from him while still laughing lightly, she pushed his shirt up to his collarbone. Her light blue eyes surveyed the dark bruise with raised eyebrows. "Really, what were you thinking, getting into a fight. I know you're a bit unstable these days, but I'm really surprised though." As she spoke, her fingers lightly skimmed the discoloured surface. "You're not really one inclined to use violence. So tell me. Who was the guy that beat you up?"

His friend's concern was genuine, and Shikamaru seriously thought of telling her everything from his childhood affection for their brooding ex-comrade to the lust-driven act that sent him to the hospital. But, really, it would be troublesome if Ino knew. He could imagine the scandalized expression that would dominate her face once he told her the truth. And not only was he embarrassed, he was utterly ashamed by what he'd done. Clearly Sasuke's lack of physical resistance had been against her will, and he would admit that he had sensed she was going to reject him in words and as pre-emption he deliberately defied her by kissing her just as she was about to do so.

It was only after he awoke at the hospital that he vaguely remembered how he strongly willed his shadow to go to her. He wasn't certain how it was possible for it to have happened without even performing hand seals, but it wasn't the first time. There was a hazy memory of when he was a toddler; he willed a stubborn pair of cats to remove themselves from the boulder he wanted to climb on top of. He always thought it had been a dream, and now he knew that it wasn't.

And the hard-headed Sasuke was the next victim of his peculiar ability. He recalled the look that crossed her face when he had released her from his jutsu. It was mortifying, what he did to her, the things he said before that, and that utterly miserable conclusion. He didn't need a verbal interjection to understand the unconscious rejection. It wasn't surprising at all, but it was still painful.

He felt his frustration building. Then an irritated finger poked him in the ribs and he grunted. "Hey," Ino said to him, eyeing him impatiently. "Answer me."

Again he ignored her and this time she scowled at him. Suddenly he laughed, though quietly, touching her hair affectionately. Confused, Ino scrunched her eyebrows together even more. He grinned at her, finally grasping some amount of the habitually elusive happiness.

His eyes brightened, making Ino smile too. He looked up at her beautiful face, grabbed the smaller hand resting atop his stomach and genuinely wondered why as teammates they were so perfect but romantically it led to nothing. They tried it once, thought that there was more to their friendship, but they only lasted a week. Thinking back maybe it was just the night, and the stars, and his lust when he saw the way Ino shivered because of the too short dress.

He pulled her closer again, slowly this time, and joined their lips together. Ino's surprise was brief, her resistance even briefer. She opened her mouth to him and he revelled in the feel of his tongue entering her mouth, gliding over her teeth, exploring, clashing with her tongue. His injured cheek throbbed but he ignored it.

As he closed his eyes it was another beauty that appeared in his mind. Skin paper white, shoulders slightly broader, and her hair blacker than the darkness that hovered around her heart. He felt himself grow long and hard and groaned, struggling to control his lust but failed. His hand reached between Ino's legs, rubbing the already damp center. His frustration grew and grew as Sasuke's image became more vivid. Desperately, he kept his eyes closed.

_Sasuke._

He would never touch her again. He could only keep dreaming, and now he was using Ino as it suited him. _Forgive me, Ino. _

He ripped her underwear off her unintentionally, manoeuvred her legs to straddle him and as soon as his member was freed from his trousers he plunged into her moist core in one powerful thrust.

Ignoring the pain in his side, he listened to the wind, to the lewd sounds caused by the movement of their merging and unmerging bodies, to her cries and his own rough breaths.

Eyes still shut tight, it was a dark haired earth angel he was eagerly, wildly pumping into. She emulated his vigor, riding him without restraint, crying out from the pleasure he poured all of himself to give to her.

_Sasuke._

_Sasuke._

In his head he recited a litany of her name.

He prayed to gods he never believed in.

_Please._

_Don't wake me from this dream._

* * *

He went straight towards his room as soon as he arrived home. Nara Yoshino encountered her son in the hallway and the angry scolding immediately died from her lips as soon as she saw his weary face and manner.

"Dinner's ready," she told him, eyeing him worriedly.

"Maybe later," Shikamaru responded, not stopping.

In his room he laid himself slowly down his single bed. Half an hour later, he sighed, exhausted but unable to sleep. The moonlight made the room too bright but he couldn't and didn't want to muster the necessary energy to rise up and walk to close the blinds.

He kept his gaze on the ceiling. He imagined a white body straddling him, completely naked, black eyes gazing down at him invitingly. Alone in his cold bed, he touched himself, and later as he slept, he dreamt of Sasuke yet again.


End file.
